make-ahead / frozen lunch-box ideas?

daska

My son is just about to start nursery and will need to take packed lunches. The problem is that my hands don't always work very well and I have very little energy but currently no PA first thing in the morning. I'm looking for any ideas for lunches that I can get the PA's to help make in advance so that I have things 'ready to go'. Any ideas?

lickylonglips

cheesy muffins to replace sandwiches
pasta salad with tuna, sweetcorn, mayonnaise, etc. will keep in the fridge for a couple of days
sausage rolls made with good quality sausage meat baked inside homemade bread
pasties with diced veg and chicken or mince, or baked beans and cheese
couscous salad

helyg

Do you have a PA in the evenings? I always make packed lunches the night before as my husband leaves for work at 7am and there is no way that I am with it enough then to be making them! Sandwiches etc keep fine in the fridge overnight. Alternatively you could make things like soup, pasties etc, but I'm not sure how practical they would be for a toddler.

trixietoes

Hi,

Some already made up sandwiches freeze well too. I have frozen home made cheese sandwiches for my lunches and they are lovely by the time time it comes to eat them.

I think you need to have a filling that has a low water content so salad vegetables are a no no.

I think Hummous, Jam, maybe ham, and any meat that hasn't previously been frozen such as chicken or turkey should be ok but I know there are more knowledgable people on here that can tell you for sure.

daska

I love the idea of cheese scones/muffins, they can even be buttered before freezing so would keep his lunchbox cool. Wouldn't things like pastries get soggy unless they were made the day before or re-heated on the day?

Thankfully he's happy to eat olives and things so I'm not too restricted on ingredients however I've tried pasta salad but, while he will wolf down hot pasta until his t-shirt barely fits round his middle, he won't eat cold pasta at all.

Curlytop40

I've made some pasties for my dd's school packed lunches. I have frozen them with the filling cooked but the pastry raw (after advice on here) and am planning to defrost and cook the day before. I don't know how they'll work but I hope she likes them as I have around 14 in the freezer!

vij

would you be able to nuke pasta in a flask in the microwave in the morning if its all put together the night before, if he loves pasta at least you know he will eat this

omen666

vij wrote: »

would you be able to nuke pasta in a flask in the microwave in the morning if its all put together the night before, if he loves pasta at least you know he will eat this

make sure the flask has no metal inside

msb5262

If your child likes sausage rolls, a nicer and healthier version is sausage pie. Line a pie plate with pastry rolled out very thinly, cover with best quality sausage meat (I sometimes buy sausages and take the skins off), sprinkle with a little pinch of dried sage, then put pastry lid on. Brush with beaten egg, bake for about 25 mins at 180oC. Slice, then refrigerate or freeze.
Don't do what my gran did with this - sprinkle the top with sugar and serve with custard, having made an apple pie on the same day!

babyshoes

Will your son eat cold pizza? You can make a pizza very healthy with lots of veggies and restricted amounts of meat and cheese. If your PA made one the night before, you could put a slice in the fridge for the next day, and the rest of the slices in the freezer.

daska

Afraid our house is a pork free zone but I guess I could use ground lamb or beef, and if I made them 'mince-pie' size I could easily keep a box of them in the freezer. Good one. They've said cold food only so the flask of pasta isn't an option (I used to do this with tortellini for my older son)